Good post!
Why is it that despite their efforts and desires, that science blogs are unable to capture a more general audience?
Might it be because these audiences prefer audiovisual rather than the written word? I doubt that the research would yield the same results if the participants of the study were people who watch the National Geographic channel or the Discovery channel etc. If you're a general audience, you'd watch Cosmos and Earth and Oceans before you sat down to read a blog.
Regarding Steemit specifically, I don't think we have the kind of audience that represents what's average out there yet. Most people here come from the crypto community, or politics, and are interested mainly in these subjects. Photos etc. are easily digestible and relaxing and it's kinda unfair to compare them to text-heavy blogs.
So if you take away photography, travel, politics, cryptos, I'd say science is up there, close to the top, regarding popularity. We need better writers who can capture the general interest, but mostly we're all learning as we write, we're not pro bloggers.
Is community atmosphere really unimportant to STEM minded people?
What you said. We are hermits :P
Should science bloggers place a greater emphasis in writing for the more technically minded audience they have?
I don't think so. I think the technically minded audience prefers to read "lighter" science blogs written for the general public, because they want to take a breather and a break from their regular science routine, but one that still aligns with their scientific interests. If they wanted hardcore science, they'd just read the academic papers directly, they wouldn't turn to blogs. They might also want to learn about another science they are not experts on.
The last question wasn't just focused on steemit but STEM bloggers as a whole. The technical audience seems to be all anyone is able to attract on any platform. The question is, how can we change that here? How can we create the right environment conducive for a science audience composed of non scientists?